Disclaimer: I do not own high school musical , i have merely created its dark side.

Chapter 11: truth

Taylor

nerves raced threw my body as i walked up the familiar cobblestone walkway. I hadn't walked it in over a year. I wondered why i was doing this at all but i felt obligated to myself and to troy to do this. I knocked on the evergreen door as i had so often done over the course of my senior year. There was no turning back now. I thought back to troy at the bar last week i finally understood why he did it. The mystery of how troy cracked was solved and it all came down to one huge lie, a lie that even Ryan of all people was in on. Then again Ryan was in a tough position. I thought of the way they looked at each other, Ryan loved troy and troy well maybe there was something there i didn't know but if he ever knew what we had thought all this time... then what?

The door opened and i took a deep breath. " oh, Taylor what a surprise" Mrs. Danfourth said more like what an inconvenience. I could see it written all over her face but i wasn't here for her i was here for chad.

" hi Mrs. Danforth" i said with a cool smile.

" I'm sorry but i don't think now is a good time chad is ill and..."

" mom its okay" i heard form inside the house. " let her come in" his mother looked over at her son and my breath hitched at his voice. I used to dream of that voice. Mrs. Danfourth opened the door and i took a step inside.

I took in a breath when i saw chad, he looked different but i expected that. " hi" i said i was almost in a daze, i thought of all the good times we had i thought of the hurt he had caused to not only me but others i thought he cared about.

" do you want to go up stairs?" the part of me that didn't want to be alone in a room with him was over shadowed by the need to tell him what i needed to say.

" sure, that would be good" i said trying my best to not let my voice give away my heart break. I followed him to his bedroom which i had done before but i wasn't going there for the same reasons i used too. It felt oddly like deja vu this was like a pattern to me before and now it was like travelling down a forgotten path. We got to the room and he shut the door.

" i didn't expect to see you consider.." i slapped him, the tears where welling in my eyes he flinched and frowned. " is that all you wanted?"

" can you take some responsibility for your actions?" i found myself begging. " if you want to deny that to troy fine but not to me"

" what do you want me to say?" he asked looking away.

" i just want you to tell me the truth" i said, i was tired of hoping he would see his faults and apologize but what did i gain out of sorry at the end of the day? Would he love me again would we be back together, is that what i wanted? No i didn't want him not after he had been soiled. All he was to me now was salted earth. He hadn't even had the decency to talk to me after troy beat him up, he just continued to see Gabi and it was like we had never existed, i didn't even get a break up.

" i was in love..." he tried but i put up my hand.

" spare me" i said, i didn't want to hear it i didn't want to hear anything about his love about the love that he had not after what he did to me. " don't pull that shit with me chad, i want to know the truth about it all, do Zeke and Jason know that he found the two of you having sex?" chad was silent, i wasn't supposed to know that or at least that's what he wanted, " yeah its crazy what you can learn when you see some old friends.

" you saw troy?" he said, i could see the mixed emotion on his face for a second i almost saw compassion and it made me laugh he looked at me like i was crazy.

" honey that ship has sailed" i said " you've lost him forever" it brought me a little bit of joy knowing that at least he would never have that ever again.

" who says i even care about troy Bolton?" chad sneered.

" its written all over your face" i dead panned. " you are not this bad person and neither is troy, you are both good people who have done bad things but what you are doing now, the fact that for this long we have all thought that you where the victim that you had tried to be the bigger man that you had approached him on the subject and he attacked you, all of that is lower then low"

" i..."

" you lied" i said " that was the story you told, that was the story everyone thought was true for a whole year"

he looked about ready to explode. " whats your point?!"

" my point is , I'm happy for you" i said with contempt " because when i look at you all i see is anger fear regret pain and longing written across a face i don't even recognize anymore and you suffer threw it all without a shred of compassion for anyone but yourself its really astounding"

" why does that make you happy for me?" he asked.

I smiled devilishly and made my way to the door " because you are in love" i said as if it were obvious. I could see he was taking it all to heart. No matter what anyone could say to him no one besides myself could bring out his real emotions. I didn't know what Gabriela was like on the subject but i didn't care to know because i hoped this would be the last conversation i would ever have to have with chad Danfourth for the rest of my life. " do some soul searching chad, you can't change the past but you can maybe help make everyone's futures a little bit brighter." i left the room almost in tears but i knew it wasn't worth it at this point, tars wouldn't change what already was. It wouldn't change what most certainly wasn't.

I nodded with a polite smile at his parents both standing in the foyer most likely waiting to see what impulsive fickle thing i was going to do to their angel son. I left and walked away from the Danfourth house for the last time. I got into my car and let out a dry sob putting my hands to my eyes to stop the tears. It had all been so quick so sudden, i hadn't even taken him in it was done and i was not going to cry. I breathed in and out and pulled out my cell phone i dialled Ryan's cell and the put it in the phone holder. I started driving, i didn't want to go home but i couldn't sit in my car in front of chads house any longer. The phone rang for a few seconds.

" Taylor" he said happily. " how are you?"

" I'm fine, are you with troy?" i asked.

" no, he's at work" he said sounding a little irritated. I would feel the same if i where him. Naomi was on the prowl for troy and any conflicting feelings he had for troy could be dangerous for him emotionally if anything happened between troy and Naomi. But that was not the point at the moment.

" good because i need to talk to you, and preferably Sharpay if she is available." i said rushed.

" about what?" he asked suspicious.

" i don't want to have to repeat my self Ryan, it just concerns troy and chad and it would be best of i didn't have to tell you over the phone while i am driving, i might rear end someone"

" dually noted" he said

i rolled my eyes " where should i go?"

" well i am down town already" he said " just go to Sharpays and i will tell her we are coming over"

"okay" i said with a sigh.

" Taylor are you okay?" he asked worried. I always loved how different Ryan could be from his sister, case in point he actually cared about the well being of others. But lately Sharpay had been a little less her usual self. But i never thought i would say i prefer her company to that of Jason Zeke and Kelsey whom i had not talked to since that night at the movies. She had avoided me at all costs and didn't answer any of my texts so i just stopped trying.

" no" i said " but i will deal"

" we always do" he said

" I'll see you soon" i said pressing end. I drove as quickly as i could in my irritation. The whole thing was just a big mess and somehow i was volunteering to try and fix it. Troy needed to know the truth, so did Zeke and Jason and Kelsey they all needed to know the truth about what had really happened to tear our lives apart. People always say you shouldn't get involved you shouldn't worry about it but at the end of the day what the people you care about do always effects you as well and what happened between troy chad Gabi and my self has effected so many life's, and the lies chad has spread have prevented others from healing the way they should. Ryan and Sharpay know the truth and have done nothing and i wanted to know why.

I got to Sharpay's apartment building and buzzed up ryan was the one who let me in and i braced myself for what i was about to do. They where both waiting at the door when i got up there. " so what was it you wanted to talk about?" Ryan asked. It was no surprise he was so eager where troy was concerned. We sat on the couch and i noted the TV screen was smashed into a million pieces.

" long story" Sharpay said.

" so about what you wanted to talk about.." Ryan said i rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time today .

" yes yes i am going to tell you Ryan, i didn't come over here for nothing. " i want to know the truth" they both looked at me confused. " troy walked in on chad and Gabriela having sex and beat the shit out of chad, and you know that"

They shared a look. " oh for fuck sakes you know its true troy told you just like he told me" i said impatiently. " but chad told you a different story just like he told Zeke Jason Kelsey and Martha and just like Martha and Kelsey relayed to me over Christmas break we all thought troy was a nut case who attacked chad in the middle of gabi's front yard."

" what are we supposed to do?" Sharpay asked " tell him the whole school thinks he is crazy?"

" why is it wrong to tell him that the reason all of his friends are so cold is because chad lied, troy deserves to know the truth!" i yelled. " does he even know they are still together? How can you say he is getting better if its built on lies what kind of friend are you? He would want to know"

" and you want your revenge" Ryan said plainly " you're right, troy deserves to know the truth but not so you can pull one over on chad"

" you think that's what this is about?" i asked taken aback. "because its not at all"

" then why do you care so much?" he asked " it cant all be for troy, you want him to get better but you know it would hurt chad in the end, and yeah you're right troy deserves to know and i should have told him already and i will, tonight"

i sucked my teeth unbelieving why would Ryan do anything to jeopardize his relationship with troy? He was as close as he was ever going to get to having him. " you don't have to believe me but i will not let you tell him and get the satisfaction of doing it."

i frowned i hadn't expected to get such hostility back from Ryan of all people but i guess i shouldn't expect any less. " so I'm not the only one who has a hidden agenda then?" i asked " you hypocrite" his face reddened and sharpay looked ready to strike.

" hold up Taylor" she said " first of all you don't know anything about Ryan and troy so go fuck yourself and second you want to come into my home and throw around accusations and expect us not do defend ourselves?" she was clearly angry about the whole thing. " this was never our problem Taylor we where never involved to begin with but we care about troy and we are trapped between a rock and a pretty fucking hard place so have some compassion if not for us then for troy"

" compassion?" i choked. " no one had any for me..." they both fell silent. " no one cared about how i felt,"

" Taylor you flew across the country " Ryan said. I felt the tears running down my cheeks. " we thought about you too Taylor, the whole situation was fucked and truly i didn't know what to believe for a whole year about the mess but its the summer and check it out we are piecing it out one piece at a time"

i wiped my eyes. He was right. I couldn't go blaming them, they didn't do anything wrong, this whole time they had just been caught in the cross fire. They wanted the best for they people they cared about and they went to lengths to do right by them and that was admirable. " you're right, I'm sorry"

" its okay to be pissed Taylor" Sharpay said. " we get it, no one was there for you threw all of this and that must have sucked, i cant imagine being alone in a new world having gone threw something like that" i let the tears flow and felt a hand on my shoulder.

" just remember that we care about you" Ryan said " we are on your side and we are on troys side and at the end of the day we are going to do what is best for the two of you"

" not to be rude" Sharpay said. " but what brought on this... this?"

i breathed in and out trying to stop crying. " i,i... i went to chads" there was an intake of breath from both of the Evans. It only made me cry harder. I felt pathetic.

" oh sweetie" Sharpay said hovering over me. " why didn't you lead with that?" she said. " what possessed you?"

" i wanted to know the truth" i said with a shrug. " i just didn't realized i couldn't handle it" the poetic irony was almost to much for the three of us and we let out a fit of laughter which was odd because the tension was so thin just a moment ago.

" why are we laughing?" Ryan asked still laughing. " this isn't a funny thing"

" no its not" i said still smiling as i cried and laughed at the same time. It made me laugh harder because i knew i was a mess. Sharpay howled next to me.

" I'm sorry you just look ridiculous" she laughed " i think i might be seriously crazy"

" just noticing?" Ryan laughed. I started to take deep breathes to kill the laughter. I hadn't laughed that hard in a while and it felt good, even though the situation was so messed up and depressing we had found the littlest bit of a silver lining and ran with it.

" you don't have to tell troy tonight" i said. " you're right it would hurt him a lot and he needs to be ready"

Ryan gazed out the window at the city below. " i don't think he would ever be ready, telling him now will open up healing wounds but the longer we know and don't tell him the longer the lie lasts and lies only create bigger wounds over time" he said " i have to tell him tonight" we all shared a sceptical look but we knew it was the only way troy would be able to grow past this properly, i felt a tinge of sympathy for Ryan knowing it could potentially end whatever it is he has with troy but at the end of the day he would do the right thing and troy would eventually get over it. I kept reminding myself that the truth hurts it hurt for me and it is going to hurt for troy, all we can hope for is that he knows who is there for him threw it all.

A/N: this is definitely the shortest chapter in this story every other chapter his almost double the length of this one. I just didn't see the point in breaching further into Taylor life with so much already going on in the story i have realized 16 chapters will just not be able to cut it so the cap is up to 18 for now that may become 20 but we will see, it will not be more then twenty though that i can assure you. Until next Tuesday =D